


Secret Garden

by backtofive



Category: Finder no Hyouteki | Finder Series
Genre: Angst, Animals, Fantasy, Fluff, Gore, M/M, Mythology - Freeform, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-01
Updated: 2015-10-02
Packaged: 2018-04-12 08:34:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 19,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4472546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/backtofive/pseuds/backtofive
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"There was something about that man that bothered him and comforted him at the same time. Asami was big and strong and made him feel protected — most of the humans inspired in him the opposite feeling. Akihito was curious. Maybe that man was different, special. His instincts were telling him to go... but not so soon.<br/>He could feel the emptiness that filled the interior of man's spirit. It was as if Asami was incomplete, lost. Maybe that human was searching for his other half just like him."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Amelita](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amelita/gifts), [Green_Destiny](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Green_Destiny/gifts).

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "My shadow's the only one that walks beside me  
> My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating  
> Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me  
> 'Til then I walk alone"
> 
> "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams" — Green Day

Sion Corp was a large company and Akihito coudn't tell what it was or what they were doing. To him what humans did most of the time didn't make any sense. Akihito saw large machines with the emblem of Sion Corp and heard a few mumbles among workers, about how the company practically owned Japan by now.

Usually, Akihito didn't care about what humans were up to and he preferred it stayed that way. But looking at the big machines carrying away the branches of the old and dead trees made him feel sad. Those old friends of his had died because of a polluted river that cut through the forest. He concluded that there is no escape. Humans are like a plague, a virus. They have taken everything for themselves. Akihito wondered if the weary spirits of those trees were happy somewhere else. Somewhere safe.

Akihito didn't understand human artificial mechanisms and their weird inventions, but some of these inventions he knew very well, and they had taught him one or two precious life lessons. 

The first thing he had learned in all these countless years of existence, is that if something was made by man, it is probably bad for everything else. Akihito knew about some weapons, aircraft, bombs and several other things. He didn't know exactly how these things worked and what they were called, but he knew that he should avoid them. The forest animals knew by instinct that contact with human beings can only serve to corrupt, hurt or kill.

Akihito recognised those boxes on wheels that carried humans from place to place, and that their side effect was the unnatural smoke in the environment.

Akihito believed in balance. If the planet was a great living organism, humans were like a virus; a malicious parasite. But just like all viruses, it was a way of life and even such a vile way of life has its own way of dealing with the environment. 

Perhaps his isolation had taught him very little about human nature. Perhaps there were humans out there doing good things for mother earth. Maybe he was just confused. What if life seemed to be about to end in that little forest, only to be reborn in a different way? He should be patient. Nature is wise.

Akihito was also part of this great living organism, but he wasn't like humans. He was not the virus. He was the cure.

Akihito didn't have a definite form or image, but he usually took on the form of a beautiful bird, occasionally an elegant deer ... Sometimes, especially on hot days, he liked to turn into a fish and swim quietly for hours. Sometimes he turned into a wolf, with white fur and blue eyes deep with understanding. Sometimes he was a tiny, agile fox running, pretending that his little territory was actually big and all his to play in. Sometimes, he just took a nap, and slept in a tree. A few minutes or a few years, it didn't matter. Time, after such a long existence, had lost its meaning.

He knew of a world much larger than what he was looking at now. It had trees as far as the eye could see, and vast skies that stretched over the entire horizon. Now, it had large buildings and smoke and noise.

Akihito could see everything from where he was perched, on a rickety tree ... An old friend, and it was sick. Each and every tree, bird, fish, wolf, ant, even earthworm and all other animals in that florest were his friends. Many no longer existed, but he would always be able o remember them in his dreams.

Akihito assumed the form of a hare and hid in a hole behind the roots of an ancient tree that wasn't old like him. In the dark, listening to the heartbeat of the earth, he closed his sad eyes, and tried not to think of his own lonely existence...

A long time ago, someone had told him a story about soulmates.

He wondered if he had a soulmate somewhere. There were other spirits in forests, in the mountains, in the oceans, and even in some small caves. His home however, was depleting. The humans were destroying his habitat, and soon he would perish in loneliness and sadness.

He had searched for his soulmate for many years. If it turned out to be a hare, then he would become a hare. If it was a wolf, he would become a wolf. Likewise, if his soulmate were a tree, he would become a tree, and he would never feel alone ever again. Even if humans came with their axes and tractors, their souls would return to the great motherland together.

Thousands and thousands of years had passed. Even the courses of rivers had changed, yet his loneliness still remained the same.

Once, a nice lady had come to live in the next village. Akihito used to listen to her tell her children about stories she had read in books. About pirates, poets, lovers ... Humans were fascinating in their own way. Personally, his favorite stories were the love stories. Akihito knew, for sure, that love is real.

Sometimes, Akihito turned into the human version of himself. His appearance was always the same when he was in this form. His skin was pale and soft, his hair golden, and his eyes were blue as the sky. Akihito was tiny. Pretty. He just wanted to learn to read the words he had witnessed the lady read so many decades ago. He wanted to meet pirates, and poets.

Akihito wanted to love.

✿✿✿ 

When the day finally dawned, Akihito became an eagle, flying as high as he could in the clouds. The vast expanse of colored clouds in the early morning sky soothed his savage heart. Some things never changed. Akihito always enjoyed flying. He wanted to fly for much longer. He wanted to fly far far away, to a new home where he could feel loved and protected.

Akihito spread his beautiful wings as much as he could, reveling in the cold wind stroking his feathers. The wind was also an old friend. Akihito's heart felt so peaceful that he didn't realize he was flying faster and faster. In the clouds his fear did not exist. In the clouds his loneliness did not bother him. He did as he had done when humans were still learning to make flint knives. As if nothing had changed since then.

Suddenly the clouds beneath him disappeared and Akihito realized that he had flown far from the polluted grove that he had lived in the recent centuries. He was now flying over a city, a huge city.

A few decades ago, Akihito had been a little sparrow flying over a village when a human child had spotted him and decided to throw stones at him for reasons Akihito couldn't understand. He remembers how he had fallen on the ground and stayed there, struggling to survive for a long while until he was strong enough to take up some other form and escape. Akihito knew where he was; where no child could hurt him, but he was still afraid.

Akihito started to grow tired, so tired that he was getting distracted. 

Confused by the smells, the noise and the labyrinth of cement and concrete structures, the beautiful eagle realized too late that he was heading straight for a glass door. The thick glass deeply hurt him when Akihito broke through it and he hit the ground violently. For hours, he lay on the bloody carpet, wondering if he would die like this, so far from any place he could call home, and alone, just as he had lived his whole life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to my beta [Kinoshita1227 ](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Kinoshita1227/pseuds/Kinoshita1227%20target=) ❤
> 
> In this chapter Aki was...
> 
>  
> 
>   
> 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Nothing else will hurt me.  
> It's just that I've gotten used  
> to the wrong road that I followed  
> with my own law.  
> I have what I got  
> and I am very lucky,  
> like I know you are too."  
> — Andrea Doria [Legião Urbana]

It was before sunrise and Asami Ryuichi was showering. The freezing cold water was running down his big, strong body but he ignored the discomfort. There was no time to lose, work was waiting.

The luxurious penthouse was silent and grim. The heavy air of silence and solitude hung. Asami didn't care.

Bureaucracy with the dawn, investments, managements, papers in the day. After dinner, carnage, blood and gunpowder. Every step he took, his list of sins grew. Asami stared into the veil of dark sky. The dark didn't scare him. Nothing did. Not when he knew the human nature. Human nature was to destroy to win, use not to be used and kill so as not to be killed. His golden eyes reflected the gloom that dominated his soul at times when he was alone and there was no point in feeling anything.

Asami dried his black hair with a fluffy towel and donned his expensive clothes, his imported shoes. He headed into the kitchen and made coffee for himself. White and impersonal walls all around him. There was nothing he needed and didn't already have, so why did it feel like something was missing?

Suoh was waiting in the garage standing next to Kirishima.

"Good morning, Asami sama."

Behind the closed, tinted window of the limo he thought 'What's there to be good about today?' 'Today' was just another day to make more money.

Looking out the window that same morning, Asami saw a large bird flying across the sky at great speed. He squinted .. What did that appear to be ...? An eagle? Flying over Tokyo?

Asami sighed, maybe he had been working too hard lately. The car made a turn and the eagle disappeared behind the buildings.

That night they had a bloody encounter. Asami couldn't remember the details later, but he knew he had seen it happen. The moment his body hit the ground, Kirishima immediately crouched next to him, shouting out orders while Suoh started shooting at their enemies. The smell of blood and gunpowder poured into Asami's nostrils, but he was not afraid, just tired.

He could see the dust accumulating on the floor and started to think about how nothing in the grand scheme of things would change even if he died that night.

"Asami sama! Stay with me, Asami sama! Open your eyes, you have to ... Asami sama! ..."

Someone was shaking him and he wanted to push to hands away. A few minutes ago he was the perfect image of a crime lord, but now it felt like he was someone else entirely

When he closed his eyes he saw the image of an eagle that cut the sky with its beautifully stretched wings. The eagle had flown for a long time, to and from many places and was now so tired. Just like him. That night he flew with the eagle in his dreams. They danced in the sky and played on the clouds, all under the glimmering starlight. For the first time in a long time, Asami felt like there was nothing he was missing.

"Asami sama?" He heard Kirishima's ask softly.

What was Kirishima doing in his room? Opening his eyes however, he soon noticed that he was not at home. He was at the hospital. The room could easily come across as a room of any luxury hotel. Impersonal, clean and luxurious. He could see the cloudy sky from the open window.

"Asami sama? How do you feel?" Kirishima asked in a reserved tone.

"I'm thirsty."

The man rose from his chair and poured him a glass of water.

"They tried to shoot you in the chest sir, thankfully Suoh saved you. The bullet hit you in the shoulder. It isn't serious but you'll need to rest for a few days... to help the wound heal. You spent last night under observation, just in case if there was a concussion. Actually, you fainted due to the fall. The shot didn't reach-"

"I assume the agreement yesterday went wrong. I can't quite remember what happened, but the fact that I was shot is quite revealing." Asami wasn't worried about his health. Also, he knew Kirishima couldn't wait to find an excuse to make him rest for a few days.

"Sakazaki planned a massacre. In the middle of the meeting, one of Sakazaki's men who was undercover among Sato's men shot you. Sakazaki had ordered his men to shut all the shed doors. His plan was for us to kill each other in a bloodbath."

"Score?"

"Almost sixty dead. Nearly twenty of us."

Asami wanted to smoke.

"What about Suoh?"

"He was shot ... three times, but he is okay, recovering in this hospital as well."

"What about you?"

Kirishima pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. "The Sato clan doesn't exist anymore, sir. We overtook their routes and their cargo. We have interrogated the survivors, and have all the information we need ... including the names of Sakazaki's informants ... Some are still able to communicate, but I don't know for how long, sir."

Kirishima had taken upon himself the task of rob, torture and annihilating their enemies.

"Kill them all" Asami muttered. "And kill their families as well. We don't need some moron seeking revenge later."

He sighed "I think I'll go back to work starting tomorrow morning."

Kirishima cleared his throat "Sir, I cleared your schedule all the way to next week. You need to rest. If you want, I can hire a nurse to take care of you in the following days or I myself can-"

"Kirishima, you're not my mom and I don't need a babysitter."

"But, sir-"

"I know you're worried. But I want to work."

"You can manage Sion Corp from home sir."

Asami sighed, Kirishima was in his "mom mode" and he couldn't dissuade him. Asami sure wasn't going to fire the best of his men over something like this.

"Whatever. I'm going home."

"Yes sir."

"Also, put the prize for Sakazaki's head. Whoever finds him will get a bonus for every broken bone, but I want him alive."

Asami Ryuichi didn't accept help getting out of the car. He entered the elevator and pushed the button for the top of the huge building where he lived. To the penthouse.

The first thing he noticed was the cold wind coming through broken glass. There was a dried pool of blood on the living room carpet and footprints of a very large bird heading towards his room.

"What the heck ...?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to my beta [Kinoshita1227 ](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Kinoshita1227/pseuds/Kinoshita1227%20target=) ❤
> 
> Thank you for reading!!  
> Err... sorry for the lack of fluff xP
> 
> Asami's soundtrack for the beginning of the chapter: [▼](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gxNW2Ulpwk=)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You were wishing and hoping wand waiting to  
> really hit the big time  
> But did it happen, happen, no?  
> You're speeding too fast  
> Slow down. Slow down  
> You'd better slow down  
> Slow down  
> You really know how to set the mood  
> And you really get inside the groove  
> Cool cat"  
> Coal Cat — [Queen]

Asami wasn't a man to be easily surprised, but when he saw a great Mountain Hawk -Eagle sleeping on his bed he was genuinely shocked. The big bird woke up upon his arrival but didn't seemed scared or aggressive, just looking at him with a curious and slightly bored expression.

The man approached the beautiful bird carefully, unafraid even though he knew a wild animal like that could easily rip his skin and muscles into paper strips if it wanted. Strangely, the animal seemed to be peaceful and at ease with his presence... Perhaps it was too hurt or tired to even care about it. There was a large piece of glass embedded in between the animal's eyes and it was uncomfortable just to look at.

"Do you mind if ..." Asami murmured and slowly extended his hand. The animal just stared back. What he was doing is probably very stupid and dangerous, but Asami has always been the type of person to trust and follow his instincts. He moved his hand slowly, barely touching the animal's neck with his fingertips. The Hawk-Eagle didn't mind. In fact, it lowered his head and Asami felt relieved.

It was beyond him what that animal had been doing there, flying over Tokyo. He didn't really care for humans, but seeing such magnificent creatures hurt like that did something to him. Asami couldn't explain why but it simply made him feel sad. He could say that Tokyo's sky wasn't a place for such an animal to be in but that was unfair. Before humans had arrived and done all that to the forest, destroying and polluting everything, the sky used to belong to these hawk eagles and many other beautiful birds.

Carefully, Asami sat on the bed and began stroking the bird's delicate feathers, aware that any sudden movements could trigger the bird to tear off his fingers. The blood long soaked through the sheets was drying and he suddenly had the thought that the hawk eagle could eventually die. The sudden feeling of urgency gave Asami more confidence to act immediately. He didn't have much time after all and the bird was clearly too tired to care about his touch.  
Asami reached out and grabbed the piece of glass that was stuck in the bird's forehead. The animal didn't look happy but let him pluck the shard without much reaction.

"That's a good bird." Asami muttered. The bird was probably a wild animal kept as a pet for someone rich. A hawk would never be so open minded such as to let some strange human tend to its wounds like he was doing; just being so trusting overall. It was probably hurting like hell even if the wound wasn't bleeding anymore. The bird had to be really strong to heal that fast ... Or maybe it was already on its deathbed. That would also explain why he or she didn't mind being carried to the bathroom.

Asami found that one of the animal's wings was broken. After cleaning it thoroughly, he wrapped a bandage gently around the bird's body to hold the wing in place. He made the tape tight enough that it held the wing in place then wrapped it underneath the unaffected wing and around the front of the bird's feet. He didn't wrap the bandage so tight that it would compromise blood flow to the wing in order not to make the bird's breathing difficult because it seemed painful. It was a stop gap measure, since he really wasn't a vet. Asami was definitely going to make Kirishima bring in the best vet in town by morning.

"You'll be fine..."

After that, Asami placed gauze over the first wound, the one that had the glass shard stuck in it earlier on. He then trimmed the beautiful feathers away. Washed the wound with warm soapy water using an un-perfumed hand soap, then rinsed well with clean warm water. He carefully trimmed away loose pieces of skin that hung around the wound and hindered its healing. Only then did Asami finally call Kirishima.

There was a big cut in the hawk eagle's soft belly - and that was very concerning. Besides the gaping wound and the viscous blood dripping from it, what worried Asami more was the lack of reaction from the bird.  
"Are you really okay? Not gonna bite off my fingers or anything?" Asami lifted an eyebrow. The huge bird didn't even respond.

Kirishima arrived soon after with antiseptic and antibacterial cream. It was actually pretty amusing watching the usually stoic secretary look so confused by the scene happening before his eyes. 

Asami then went on to stitch the bird's abdominal wound, using only the finest threaded silk and suture needles. Being who he was, Asami always had these equipment on hand. For once, he was actually thankful that he did.

The bird's wound would probably take about four to five days to heal enough to be able to remove the stitches and allow it to heal completely. Asami dismissed Kirishima, then carried the hawk-eagle to his bedroom and laid it on the ground. Finally, they could both get some rest.

✿✿✿ 

Akihito's wing wasn't exactly hurting, but it felt very very uncomfortable wrapped in that position.

Sometimes he wondered if he should have become human the moment the man had begun treating his wounds and said something along the lines of 'I am gonna be okay, I am no ordinary creature.' But then again, he didn't really want to scare the man.

There was something about that man that bothered him and comforted him at the same time. Asami was big and strong and made him feel protected — most of the humans inspired in him the opposite feeling. Akihito was curious. Maybe this man was different, special. His instincts were telling him to go... but not so soon.

He could feel the emptiness that filled the interior of the man's spirit. It was as if Asami was incomplete, lost. Maybe he was searching for his other half just like himself.

His instincts were screaming at him to leave. Maybe, but not so soon.

Akihito wanted to behave. But his wing.... Wrapped like that, so uncomfortable that it was driving him crazy! Of course Asami had good intentions, to help the bone heal, and consequently his wing, and there was no way for him to know that Akihito could heal himself way faster than any human would ever dream to heal themself. Said bone had already fixed itself two days ago and he couldn't wait to get rid of those wings for a while in another animals's form.

The moment Asami closed the penthouse's door, Akihito turned into a beautiful bobcat and stretched his legs on the couch. That felt sooo good! Soon enough he fell asleep, feeling happy and safe and content after a very long time. He liked that house, he even liked the man's smell. It make any sense, but he felt good. The wounds were still there, already healed but still clearly visible. It might take a week, but would surely disappear as though nothing had ever happened.

He probably shouldn't stay too long. The man would notice he wasn't normal.

At same time... Akihito was kinda curious about how he would react, if he would still act so nicely, if he would still want to take care of him. Akihito never actually had anyone look after him before. It felt like a dream.

When the front door opened, Akihito blinked open his feline eyes. For a second, just for a split second, he forgot what animal he had been in front of Asami. He remembered he was a bird, but what bird? In a state of rushed panic, Akihito turned into the first bird he could think of. An owl. His wings were still flapping clumsily when the man saw him in the couch.

✿✿✿ 

The wound on Asami's shoulder was throbbing by the time he arrived home. It was strange how lately he felt so much better being at home.

There actually were many things he never paid much notice to before, such as the small pots of plants Kirishima and the cleaning lady used to take care of when they were more beautiful and healthy. He didn't realize the fact that only when he was close to that unexpected visitor did he feel better. Actually, Asami hadn't realized a lot of things, but the unexpected change of a mountain hawk eagle to a snowy owl he realized immediately.

"How ..." he could still see the marks of the wounds - the same ones he had been taking care of in the last week - on the animal's forehead and belly. But unlike the hawk eagle, the owl's wings seemed perfectly fine.

The band that had been used to immobilize the hawk eagle's wing was now lying on the living room floor.

"I guess I really am tired ..." Asami mumbled to himself. Perhaps he had suffered a concussion that was making him confuse things.

Asami examined the owl suspiciously. Maybe he should call Kirishima? No ... The man would definitely think his boss was going nuts. He removed his tie and placed it on the back of a chair, heading towards to the kitchen and muttering to the bird "Are you hungry?"

However, inside the refrigerator there was nothing more than a single sushi portion that he had not even requested from Kirishima. The secretary was becoming his mother. He sighed and murmured, "Could n't you at least have turned into a cat? All I have is fresh fish."

Something behind him fell to the floor with a thump and broke. Asami looked back straightaway. There was broken glass on the kitchen floor - a cup - and on the surface of the kitchen's counter a bobcat stared at him with a curious look on its face.

On its head was that very same mark he had noticed on the owl's forehead. The hawk eagle's recent scar.

Asami closed the refrigerator door and whipped out his smartphone from his chest pocket.

"Kirishima ... It is possible that I have had a concussion. Clear my schedule for next week, I think I need to rest a bit."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to my beta [Kinoshita1227 ](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Kinoshita1227/pseuds/Kinoshita1227%20target=) ❤
> 
> In this chapter Aki was....
> 
>  
> 
>   
>   
> 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Whenever you're in need of my arms again  
> Instead of looking out from the dirty windowpane  
> Go on and kiss the rain, go on and kiss the rain  
> I'm in range and never can stop now  
> Go on and kiss the rain  
> (Kiss kiss kiss the rain)"  
> — Kiss The Rain [FEMM]

After having spoken to Kirishima, Asami places the smartphone on the table and sighed. "I'll assume that this is all just a strange dream or at least the aftereffects of a concussion and act just as usual, but..." He turned to look at the bobcat making itself comfortable on his kitchen counter. "We need to talk about your need to turn into different animals all the time. A meow for yes and two for no, do you understand me? "

The bobcat meowed once.

It was a coincidence.

"Are you feeling better?"

The bobcat meowed once.

Another coincidence.

"Your wounds still hurt?"

The bobcat meowed twice.

Another coincidence? Right?

"Are you planning to attack me?"

The bobcat meowed twice.

Too many coincidences.

"You better know I am pretty good at detecting lies."

The big bobcat just continued looking into his eyes with deep interest.

"And now ... Can you turn into a tiger? I like tigers."

The bobcat responded by jumping from the counter to the ground. Right before his soft paws reached the floor, he had transformed into a beautiful white tiger.

"Good boy," Asami praised. "I'm going to use your belly as a pillow now."

The tiger's fur was soft, warm and confortable and Asami smiled for the first time in years. Not a sarcastic smirk or sadistic grin, but a genuine, contented smile. He couldn't believe any of this was real but it was undeniable that he felt great, although certainly not sharing the deep perception with the great creature that maybe, just maybe, they were meant to be.

The tiger sniffed the man's dark hair and decided that he liked the smell, falling asleep minutes later. He didn't feel alone anymore.

✿✿✿ 

Kirishima swiped his security card and typed in the password to enter the secure penthouse. Other than him, only Suoh and Asami himself - of course - were allowed in.

Upon entering, the first thing Kirishima noticed was a low, deep, sound coming from the living room. It sounded like a big cat was purring, and made zero sense.

"Asami sama?" The secretary took off his shoes and walked in slowly.

Just like Asami, Kirishima wasn't a man who is easily surprised, but nothing in the world could prepare him for the sight he saw upon approaching the living room. Asami Ryuichi lying on the shag carpet of his living room, napping quietly with his head resting on the muscular neck of a feline that was nearly four meters in size. His first instinct was to whip out the gun in its holster but the deep voice of his boss interrupted his movements.

"What are you doing?" Asami opened his eyes calmly.

"A t-tiger... right here, sir. I'm sorry, I was just, got ... s-surprised."

Asami smirked. "Good news, I am not crazy."

✿✿✿ 

Kirishima remade the bandages on Asami's shoulder as the tiger watched them with bored blue eyes.

"Sir ... are you sure he will not ..."

"Eat us? He won't and will not. If he was planning to, he would have attacked us back when I touched him for the first time. He let me take care of his wounds and trusted me all this time."

Kirishima wouldn't dream of telling the boss who to trust or not, but being in the same room with an adult Siberian tiger within arm's reach was truly frightening.

"A-Anyway, Asami sama, are you keeping indoors plants now?"

Asami felt Kirishima fingers touching his damaged skin carefully. It hurt.

"Why are you asking me that?"

"There."

Asami frowned, following Kirishima's gaze to look in the same direction. In a corner of the living room, small seedlings had begun to grow on the carpet. How was that possible?

Thunder rumbled outside, and the tiger rose. Interested, walking slowly to avoid stepping on the flowers to approach the large windows and look the rain.

Asam wondered if this mysterious creature had something to do with the sudden appearance of flowers.

"Kirishima, I want you to bring flowers and dirt tomorrow."

✿✿✿ 

That night, Akihito wasn't able to sleep. He was afraid.

Where he was he couldn't hear the comforting sound of insects of the night, or that of a stream. Not even the noise made by small animals scurrying about or the distant howls of wolves aimed towards the moon.

Akihito was still in his tiger form, trying to feel strong and invincible in the shoes of a big cat. Independent and deadly. But that wasn't how he was feeling. He got up from the mat where he lay and walked towards the big bed where the man was soundly sleeping. Akihito sniffed at the man's neck. This was definitely one of his favorite scents and it didn't make sense at all ... unless ...

He heard thunder outside. The rain. Even if accompanied by the smell of pollution from acid rain, the lulling sound of falling rain calmed his nerves and he held his place briefly before getting up by his hind legs and taking on the form of a human boy. Akihito stretched his pale arms and opened the balcony door slowly, stepping out naked right into the cold night under heavy rain.

He could spread out his wings and fly, fly away, fly until he collapsed from exhaustion. He could get lost, build another home. But then, as his eyes slowly brimmed over with tears and a weak smile covered his beautiful lips, he realized that e felt good here. So good. The rain washed away his fears and the cold droplets wiped away all his confused thoughts. No matter where he may be, his home was his very own heart. He was the master of himself. Akihito could choose to fly away in the rain or nap under the sunlight in the morning. 

✿✿✿ 

Asami felt the cold wind caressing his face and opened his eyes. The cold wind ruffled the curtains and entered through the glass door of the balcony. But Asami was sure he hadn't opened that door ... then why...?

"Oh, God ..." The man muttered, pushing off the covers and jumping out of bed quickly. The nagging pain in his shoulder made him lose his balance for a moment and he hissed in annoyance. He walked more carefully towards the balcony door and peered through the glass.

The neon lights of the big city barely reached that floor, yet the faint glow managed to illuminate the pale and thin figure that was lifting his head to receive the cold water on his face and to kiss the rain.

The boy had light hair, delicate lips and was perfection in every fibre of his being. The weather was freezing, but Asami didn't feel cold at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to my beta [Kinoshita1227 ](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Kinoshita1227/pseuds/Kinoshita1227%20target=) ❤
> 
> I should be SLEEPING  
> but my readers deserve this update xP
> 
> This episode Akihito was (besides himself you you know what I mean)
> 
>  
> 
>   
> 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I can't feel all the things you've ever felt before  
> I said it's been a long time  
> Since someone looked at me that way  
> It's like you knew me  
> And all the things I couldn't say"  
> — Together [ The xx ]

Asami walked slowly so as not to alert the boy sitting on his balcony. He could easily become a hawk and fly away in the blink of an eye.

Carefully, the fixer reached out and touched the delicate boy's shoulder, asking, "Are you okay?" The boy said nothing, slightly surprised by his close presence. He looked only about sixteen or seventeen but his eyes reflected an exquisite mixture of innocence and wisdom.

The sound of heavy rain plummeting through the night sky was deafening and his skin began burning.

Once inside the room, Asami locked the door leading to the balcony and led the boy straight to the bathroom.

The boy blinked confusedly and looked around curiously.

"You could fall sick standing in the cold rain" Asami explained, wrapping the boy's body in a fluffy towel and turning the knob of the hot water tap in the bathtub. "Me too." He said, pulling off his cotton shirt and boxer. "Wait just a minute, the hot water will be able to warm our bodies ..."

While waiting for the tub to fill, Asami found in his walk-in wardrobe the smallest of his shirts to lend the boy, even though it would still be stupidly big for him.

Back inside the bathroom, the boy sat on the edge of the tub and played with the water with his small hand.

Asami was infatuated. Under bright artificial light the boy seemed even more perfect. His pale skin, his rosy lips, his blue eyes, his delicate shoulders, his small feet. Everything. 

Asami made the boy sit in the bathtub full of foam and gently rubbed his hair. When he was satisfied, he poured a jug full of warm water over the boy's head to rinse his hair. The boy sighed in pleasure as though he was a kitten that purrs when it feels comfortable.

After that, Asami himself stepped into the bathtub, sitting across from his pretty guest. He couldn't stop looking at the boy. He was just so damn pretty. After a few minutes of silence and awkward exchanges of stares, the boy blushed and looked away, opening his mouth to ask softly, "Why?"

Asami took a few seconds to mentally register the fact that the boy had spoken. The boy had actually spoken! And in his language, at that!

"Why ...? What? Why I saved you?"

The boy hesitated a little before muttering. "Why are you not afraid?"

"Afraid? Should I be afraid of you? It is true that we don't see something like you everyday but... You don't scare me, you delight me... I don't even know why. I never expected to meet someone like you... enchanting in every way, in every form. I could never imagine something like you even existed in the first place... but now that you're here, it just seems natural... I seem to really like just... looking at you? It seems as though I've known you for a long time."

The boy blushed harder and hid half of his face behind the foam. "I see ... Humans can be good with words as well."

"Why are you not scared? I am a strange man, you don't know me at all."

The boy cocked his head to the side with a lovely confused expression. "But I do know you."

"You know me?"

The boy nodded. "You saved me. Took care of me, fed me, protected me. You warmed me when I was cold. You cure my loneliness."

Asami smiled unknowingly. "Do you have a name?"

"Akihito."

"Akihito .... I like the way it sounds."

"I like the way you smell." Akihito said.

"I like the way you look." Asami answered.

"I like the way you talk."

"I'm really good at it." Asami answered.

"I thought we could keep this up all night long." Akihito giggled.

"Fishing praises?"

The boy hugged his knees and rested his chin on them. "Just praticing. I haven't spoken to a human for ages."

Why?"

Akihito sighed "You're a human yourself. You can imagine why."

"Right. Humans are mean creatures... Do you still trust me?"

The boy played with the foam for a few minutes and Asami watched calmly. Everything Akihito did was somehow just so fascinating.

"I am a creature who acts on instinct, Asami-sama."

Asami laughed. "You don't need to talk like Kirishima. Anyway, your instinct tells you that you can trust me?"

Akihito stopped playing and looked into his eyes in a way that gave him a chill, and said "No. It tells me that you need me. And maybe..."

"Maybe?"

"Maybe, I need you too."

The water was already cold by the time they had gotten out of the tub. Not another word was spoken after that.

✿✿✿ 

Later that night, Asami was sitting in his office, reading important documents while discussing through the phone an unexpected report from Kirishima. But his mind couldn't concentrate at all. A blond boy dressed only in one of his white shirts roamed the office, touching the edges of books in a respectful fascination.

He had a million questions burning to be asked but had decided to act slowly. Get the boy's trust first and avoid scaring him away. What he was, where he came from, what the meaning of his presence in his life right now was, where he was all his life before coming into Asami's apartment... These questions could all wait for when it was right to ask them. 

"Kirishima, I'm too tired right now ... Call me again tomorrow morning so we can continue our discussion."

"I understand. Sir..."

Asami sighed. "Go on."

"Is everything okay?"

"Yes. Everything is fine. Don't forget to bring the flowers and the dirt."

"Alright, sir. Have a good night."

"Good night."

✿✿✿ 

Akihito stood on his tiptoes, attempting to reach a thick book on the top shelf. Asami smirked. "Do you enjoy books about financial transactions?"

"What is that?"

"Financial transactions?"

"Yeah." Akihito gave up trying to take the book and Asami came to pick up the book himself.

"Human stuff, you wouldn't be interested."

"I'm interested in you. And you are human."

Asami smirked his trademark smirk. "Are you hitting on me?" 

"What you mean? I am not even touching you."

"You're really innocent, aren't you?"

The boy cocked his head to the side in confusion and Asami pet his head, smiling a little. If Kirishima were here, he'd be surprised by how often Asami had been smiling lately.

"Don't worry your pretty head about it. Now, tell me. What is it with books?"

Akihito opened the book and muttered, running his fingers over the pages carefully. "A few decades ago... I watched a woman read stories to her kids. They were fascinating stories. Stories about pirates, heroes, princes, monsters... ... and love stories..." Akihito couldn't resist the blush that found its way onto his face.

"Do you want me to read a story to you?"

Akihito looked up at him, his sky blue eyes bright with excitement.

"Can you do that?"

There were no literary books in his bookshelf other than a few volumes of Edgar Alan Poe, but he didn't want to scare the kid, so he picked up a random book and sat down in his leather armchair with the boy sitting at his feet like a faithful and lovely pet. Asami pretended to read a love story about pirates, heroes, princes and monsters until the boy fell asleep with his head resting on the man's knees.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... and there is, the FLUFF.
> 
> Special thanks to my beta [Kinoshita1227 ](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Kinoshita1227/pseuds/Kinoshita1227%20target=) ❤


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Bow down and stare in wonder.  
> Oh, how we love you.  
> No flaws when you're pretending."  
> — Everybody's Fool [ Evanescence ]

Akihito didn't leave the room the next morning, he heard noise behind the door and became a cute fennec and hid under the bed. There was a great commotion that lasted several hours and left him startled. Something was happening in the living room. When night came along, silence too did, and with faltering steps he went to the living room.

There were big boxes with dirt and some flowers in them.

✿✿✿ 

It was night when Asami got out of his black SUV next to several other that were parked near an empty and dusty warehouse. The armed men guarding the warehouse's entrance gave way to the crime lord and his faithful secretary.

Inside the huge warehouse, some masked men were guarding the prisoner. Said prisoner was lying on a sloped wooden table - his head was at a lower level than his feet; his ankles and wrists bound by shackles linked to the table legs. His clothes were torn and stained with blood, and a white cloth hid his pretty face.

"He's unconscious, Asami-sama," Kirishima murmured.

Asami nodded and with a gesture Kirishima ordered another man to wake up the prisoner with a icy water bucket.

The man tied on the table awoke with a start, pulling on his hands and legs to try to escape.

"Your efforts are worthless, Sudoh." Asami said nonchalantly. "It would be best that you saved your energy for when it will be needed."

"Asami!" Sudoh shouted, confused and desperate. "Asami-sama! Is it you?"

"Yes."

"Oh, thank God, did you come to rescue me? Thank you! Thank you so much Asami-sama! I will make those jerks pay for kidnapping me!"

"Oh, really?"

Asami approached and removed the cloth that covered Sudoh's face.

"What happened to your pretty face?" The crimelord asked. Sudoh's face was swollen and one eye was surrounded by a surly bruise.

"Asami-sama!" The prisoner's eyes were brimmed with tears. "Untie my wrists .... I need to t-touch you, just to know that you're real, that you're really here."

Asami smirked. "Is my presence really such a desirable thing?"

Sudoh nodded. "I never know I deserved to be rescued by you, Asami-sama. For many years I've been fantasizing about the moment that I could-"

"What are you saying?" Asami interrupted. "I am the very reason you were kidnapped in the first place."

"What?" Sudoh widened his eyes surprised.

"Are you surprised? You thought you could just betray me and that I would never find out ?"

"I... I-I-I... I would never bretray you, Asami-sama, I actually... I love you!"

Asami chuckled darkly. "Did you know that some men were tortured and they revealed your name as one of Sakazaki's informants? Sakazaki is my enemy, therefore you're my enemy too."

"This is a mistake! A... A misunderstanding! I love you!" Sudoh shouted desperately.

"You know, Sudou Shuu ... That love does not exist."

"But I love you, I really do!"

"Then, why did you betray me?"

"I did not!"

"The faster you admit your treachery and reveal what you know about Sakazaki's plan, the faster you will die. Believe me when I say that dying faster is a very good thing."

"Please Asami-sama! Spare me! I messed up, forgive me! I just wanted your attention! I didn't mean to betray you!"

'So, tell me. How could this happen?"

Asami glanced at Kirishima who nodded to the Jack Ketch who subsequently covered Sudoh's face with white cloth and poured water over his face. Sudoh struggled like a fish out of water, choking and coughing involuntarily.

"Isn't watching a waterboarding session really funny?" Asami asked Kirishima mockingly.

"Yes, Asami-sama."

"Please! Asami-sama, forgive me!" Sudoh screamed out, still coughing.

"That is not what I want to hear from you, Sudoh." Asami said.

Kirishima nodded again and the executioner poured more water on Sudoh's face, suffocating him with a terrible feeling of drowning.

"Why did you do it?"

Sudoh could only cry.

✿✿✿ 

Later that night, Asami opened the door and turned on the lights. He took off his Italian shoes and walked through the lobby. His footsteps stopped all of a sudden and the leather case in his hand fell to the ground with a thud.

The few flowers and boxes of dirt that Kirishima had brought in that morning welcomed him. This time, its beauty was multiplied by five. Orchids, lilies, pincushions, wild passions, african daisys, magnolias and dahlia flowers were growing in a harmonious array of colors and delicacy in the large marble boxes of land. On the carpet where grass had begun to grow the day before was now an authentic grass carpet. A lovely axis stood right in the middle of the grass.

"What beautiful sight." Asami murmured. 

The beautiful creature was in the wrong place. Not just because it was the middle of a big and polluted city, away from clear, blue skies , and colorful forests of freedom and beauty, but also because he was in the same house as a cruel man filled with human shortcomings and horrible sins.

Seeing that the man had hesitated, the deer got up and approached him. He sniffed the man's chest. His presence calmed him. Both of them sighed.

Asami reached out to caress the beautiful animal's antlers but it suddenly turned and lay down near the orchids, looking back as if motioning for the man to follow him. Asami obliged and sat down on the grass next to the deer. "I see you liked the gift," he said softly. The following several hours, neither of them got up, simply reveling in each other's presence.  


✿✿✿ 

Akihito could sense Asami's restless spirit. He reminded him of a lonely, dangerous yet melancholy wolf in his own way, without even realizing it. Asami just needed someone who would heal his deep wounds and warm his heart. 

'Just as he took care of my wounds and warmed my body when I was cold ...' An idea formed in Akihito's head as he watched the big man sleep. He was soon naked again, in human form, sitting on the chair in the corner of the bedroom.

Akihito wanted to trust the seemingly gentle man who provided him shelter, who fed him and read to him before he slept, but there was something strange in his aura. It felt like he was hiding something.

'Maybe he isn't what or who he seems to be,' Akihito couldn't help but be a little skeptical. Asami was a human, after all. 

However, one that apparently accepted his strange and unusual ever-changing nature. Asami wasn't scared of Akihito, neither did he try to explore more about it or hurt him. But to Akihito, Asami's sweet behavior and dark soul just didn't match.

Akihito was positive Asami could be his friend. After so much time, he had finally found a human soul that he could be close to, but even so he was afraid. Asami was hiding something. Could he trust Asami if what he was hiding was actually his true nature?

Right now, Asami was having terrible nightmares and they prevented Akihito from getting any sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to my beta [Kinoshita1227 ](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Kinoshita1227/pseuds/Kinoshita1227%20target=) ❤
> 
> First of all, I think I must have surprised some of my readers because I just add torture to the tags, I usually write fluff, so I feel nervous by posting that 'strong scene' I am so sorry!! (❁°͈▵°͈)  
> But that scene was necessary! xP
> 
> This chapter Aki was...  
>   
>   
> 


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Lately I've been, I've been losing sleep  
> Dreaming about the things that we could be  
> But, baby I've been, I've been praying hard  
> Said no more counting dollars, we'll be counting stars  
> Yeah, we'll be counting stars." — OneRepublic [ Counting Stars ]

Asami left early in the morning. He said something about having an important meeting that not even Kirishima could cover, though he would still be coming home in the afternoon.

The afternoon sun was scorching, even through the tinted windows of the penthouse. Akihito, who was used to lying down on damp floors of caves or swimming in freshwater streams that ran for kilometers underground felt horridly stifled even though the penthouse was bigger than any cave he had ever lived in.

Asami hadn't mentioned anything regarding the big windows he always kept locked and Akihito didn't dare to ask, torn between his curiosity and fear.

Asami wasn't a normal man, he knew that for sure. The first obvious sign was his powerful aura and his reaction, or lack thereof, to Akihito's supernatural nature. Other than that, the boy also noticed the way his eyes would darken when he spoke on the phone, usually about not tolerating his enemies, or anything of the like. Akihito wondered who those stupid, brave men were who would dare attempt to snatch the lion's territory using cowards' plans.

Asami knew that at any moment Akihito could easily become a brown bear and crimp his long claws on the man's neck, severing his jugular and making him bleed to death or eating his meat during the process but he was never afraid of approaching him. Asami was truly an alpha male.

It was probably ironic to think that someone like Akihito could feel so protected under a human's roof. Especially with his ever-present curiosity. The boy that wasn't really a boy wanted to know how it would feel to touch all of that man's skin and basking in his pheromones. ...What was happening to him? Are the other nature spirits like that too? Was it normal to be so attracted to Asami, like some animal in heat?

Akihito gazed longingly at the bathtub and scoffed, where were his thoughts heading? Unless Asami was his true mate, he shouldn't even be thinking such things.

He was just curious. Or maybe it was the heat, making him think weird thoughts. The weather. That must be it, the reason he would feel this way.

Akihito decided to turn on the bathtub. He mimicked the way Asami had turned the tap before, and soon enough water came gushing out of it. Akihito let the water run through his fingers, cooling his body and mind down.

Akihito studied his human legs, thighs, crotch and wondered... how would it feel... to be touched right there, where it felt hot... Akihito touched his shaft lightly and unintentionally let out a soft moan. What an embarrassing sound! His face flushed. But now it felt even hotter, it was even making it hard to think. The objective was to refresh himself but the action turned out causing just the opposite.

Akihito laid his head back on the cold porcelain bathtub and closed his eyes. All this was crazy, he shouldn't even be here. He wanted to open his wings, run free, swim in deep water... but now that the world he knew was gone, he had no where to go. He was scared and confused. What if Asami didn't let him go? What if Asami kicked him out? He didn't even know what he wanted. To leave? Or to stay? Leaving was the obvious option; Asami was still a human after all and humans were not to be trusted. But Asami had helped him so much, and he really owed him the benefit of doubt.

Sleep came unexpectedly and he finally managed relaxed ... Lately, he had been losing sleep. Instead, daydreaming and imagining the things they could do together if they were mates. Flying in the dark night sky side by side, under billions of billions of stars, away from the urban landscape filled with skyscrapers and offices and pollution and bustling streets...

-

Asami entered the house, loosened his tie, took off the jacket of his suit, and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt to his elbows. All the while gazing at the flowers that grew in the four corners of his living room, and the vines that stretched out towards his ceiling. The plants were completely out of place but so fitting at the same time. He wondered how much it would take to turn the penthouse into a winter garden. He should probably order Kirishima to contact someone who could redecorate the house in a way that it looked more like a civilized garden; not that he had anything against the current green mass either.

Where was the one responsible for the plants anyway? Asami felt a sort of excitement build in his chest. How laughable. What was he, a teenager anticipating the sight of their crush? 

Asami searched for the boy but he wasn't in any of the predicted rooms. Akihito wasn't in the living room, or the kitchen, or even the master room. A sense of dread filled the man as he considered the possibility that the boy had left. Before he turned around to leave the room, Asami noticed that the bathroom door was slightly ajar. He knew he had closed it before leaving and went to check it out. 

Asami entered the bathroom and stopped in his tracks, eyebrow lifting up in slight surprise. Living with Akihito all this time hadn't prepared him for the sight he witnessed in his bathtub.

The boy's blond hair was dry, and so was his neck and chest, but his lower half, waist down wasn't even human anymore.

"What...?"

The blue eyes opened to look at him with surprise. "H-hi... You're home..."

"What... is happening?" 

Akihito looked around confused. What was wrong? Was he not supposed to use Asami's bathtub? But the man himself was the one who taught him how to set up a bath...

"What are you, really?"

Akihito smiled sheepishly.

"I haven't told you?" He honestly didn't know if he should tell the man the secret he had been keeping to himself for the past thousand years, but he did anyway. After all, he was a creature who acts on instinct. "A spirit of nature. I live because of Mother Earth and Mother Earth lives because of me."

"And you can turn into different animals..."

"Yes..."

"And mythological creatures?"

"What?" Akihito didn't even know what that was.

"Right now, you are a ...mermaid."

Akihito looked at his own body. "Oh." He giggled and flushed adorably. "While I was napping I must have unconsciously changed half of my body into a fish. I kind of spent the whole afternoon sleeping. I am sorry if I scared you."

"I am just mildly intrigued."

Would feeling attraction towards a mermaid be considered 'bestial'? Asami thought with amusement. The creature before his eyes was gorgeous, maybe even beyond that. Magnificence beyond human reasoning.

Asami crouched next to the boy and extended his hand to touch the aquamarine scales. "I believe I have told you before, but you're so beautiful regardless of your form. I like to imagine I can meet any version of you."

Akihito felt his cheeks burn and hid his face behind his tail.

"Why do you like to make me so unconfortable?"

Asami smirked. "Because you like it?"

Akihito couldn't lie.

"I guess so..." 

Asami would have captured the mermaid's lips at that moment if he hadn't been hiding his pretty face.

"Akihito, I am curious to know..."

Hesitantly, the boy dropped his tail and looked coyly at the man with his blue eyes.

"You can turn into different animals and... it seems you can even transform only specific parts of your body? How does that work?"

"What do you mean?" The boy frowned adorably.

"You can have human parts and animals parts in the same body?"

"If I want, yes. Just like now, I am half fish and half human... Why? It's weird, right?"

"No, it's... interesting. Can you have female parts too?"

Akihito stared at him silently for a few seconds, as if he didn't know the answer to that. That was a weird question.

"I guess I would need to... if I wanted to produce offspring?"

Asami's eyebrow lifted again, surprising him wasn't an easy feat, but the boy seemed to be a pro at it. "You can have offspring?"

"First I would have to find a mate for that, right? Anyways, why are you asking me that?"

"I'm just curious." That was the biggest understatement of the year.

"It's okay" Akihito smiled, "I am curious about you too."

"What do you want to know about me?"

Akihito thought about the questions he had wondered just before he fell asleep. 'How would Asami's touch feel?' But, he couldn't just say that out loud, could he? How would a normal human boy react in a situation like this? He was feeling so helpless now.

The man was looking at him, almost as if through him, like he could see something he himself couldn't. He could understand the fascination the man was looking at him with because he felt the exact same way, completely mesmerized by Asami's golden eyes. But... there was something different, something unnatural about his facade.

Akihito cleared his throat and asked sweetly "What are you hiding from me, now?"

A less careful observer would not have noticed the nuances in the beautiful face of Asami, - he was surprised. "Why are you asking me that, Akihito? Don't you trust me?"

'Should I?' Akihito wondered, but said nothing.

"This bathtub isn't big enough for a proper swim, right?" Asami changed the topic. "Tonight, I'll take you to an underground pool, and we will swim together, how about that?"

Akihito smiled brightly and lit up Asami's day once more. It was dangerously addictive. Asami didn't want to consider the possibility of that boy wanting go away one day; it was already too late for him to take his freedom back, he just didn't know that yet. Asami was going to own that creature. Body, mind and soul.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter, Aki was... 
> 
> don't cheat! Go back and read the chapter so you'll find out!!!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I will never ever be the first to say it..  
> but still I... yes, you know I... I... I...  
> I would do it,  
> push a button  
> pull a trigger,  
> climb a mountain  
> jump off a cliff,  
> 'cause you know, baby  
> I love you, love you a little bit  
> I would do it, I would say it  
> I would mean it, we could do it  
> it was you and I and if only I.."
> 
> — Lykke Li [ Little Bit ]

The door was open.

Asami was in the hallway, waiting for Akihito. Insecure and yet curious, he looked at the man uncertainly.

Akihito knew that if he wanted to make a break for it, he could easily crash open the windows and fly away, never to be found. But did want to do that? He was unconsciously grabbing at the hem of his white shirt, clenching and unclenching his fists, crumpling the cotton fabric.

Asami noticed his ministrations and the uncertain look the boy was shooting him. He stared deeply into his eyes, questioning him silently. Akihito sighed. He intention really wasn't to run away. He was just starting to miss the liberating feeling of flying atop mountains and galloping in the woods. Then again, the apartment was full of flowers and some of his favorite plants, and that would be good enough. For now. Asami had told him he was contemplating building an artificial lake in the middle of the living room, just for Akihito to swim in. Being a spirit of nature, he could easily turn the artificial lake into a natural one. The penthouse was starting to become a nice and big winter garden, the only problem being that he always felt alone when Asami wasn't around. He had heard stories about that sensation before... Something you feel when you're with your soulmate. But that couldn't possibly be the case, right? Akihito had to repeatedly reassure himself of that.

Suddenly, a warmth enveloped his own delicate hand. He looked down. Asami was holding his hand and he felt his heart flutter. 'Why?' Akihito asked himself.

What was happening? He wondered.

There was a big man standing at the end of the corridor in front of the elevators. Asami had told Akihito about him before. 'Suoh is one of the few people I would trust with my life'.

'Is he your soulmate?' Akihito had asked, momentarily afraid of hearing the answer but Asami burst out laughing instead, which also made his heart feel strangely warm.

'No. He is... a friend.'

"Suoh." Asami said and the big man turned to him.

"Asami-sama."

"This little one is Akihito."

Suoh bowed to the boy respectfully.

"Akihito, this is Suoh. He protects me and he will protect you too."

"He is my friend too?"

"Of course he is." Asami smiled. Suoh found it difficult to remain stoic and expressionless. This was new. His boss never told him to protect anyone else but him, and neither did he smile. It was supposed to be a myth.

"Now, Akihito, go to the metal box at the end of the corridor. That thing is an elevator; a man-made mechanical-"

The boy stepped back unconfidently. He didn't trust human inventions.

"This won't harm you, Akihito. Just go in, I am going to take you to the pool."

Reluctantly, the boy lowered his head and stepped forward, eyeing the elevator suspiciously.

Now Suoh was just downright confused. Why was Asami talking to his guest like that? Like he didn't even know what elevators were?

"Listen up" Asami suddenly said, back to being his usual self. "That boy isn't a normal person. He isn't a normal... human. I believe I have told you about this guest before. He is the most amazing thing you'll have ever seen in your life, and is very precious... to me. You have already tightened the security in recent weeks, and that is because it is important that no one leaves the building without my knowledge. He will not leave the penthouse. Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes, sir."

"Also... I don't need to tell you to keep your mouth shut if you ever see him do anything unusual, do I?"

"No, sir."

Asami Ryuichi smirked. "I'm taking him to the pool now. Do not interrupt us unless it is an emergency."

"Yes, sir."

When the elevator doors closed, Suoh finally let down his facade and bit his lips like a young and confused boy.

What was happening to the boss? Since when would he care about someone else? He could only wonder.

-

Akihito knew what a pool was; he had known what they were ever since the first Japanese pools were invented, and boy was he excited to see one right in front of his eyes. Akihito was so caught up in excitement that he missed entirely the dark eyes that followed his slim physique when he threw off his shorts and shirt - he wasn't even wearing underwear, and dove straight into the water.

It had been so long since he swam in water that wasn't polluted. So long that he could cry in happiness right there and then. Asami had mentioned that he wanted to see him in his "mermaid" form again, and Akihito decided it was time to comply. Anyway, turning his legs into a beautiful aquamarine tail right before hitting the water was pretty fun too. 

Something fell onto the floor with a 'thud', but Akihito didn't even notice.

Asami nudged the briefcase with the tip of his foot. "You just dropped your briefcase, Kirishima."

"Sir... I..." 

Asami was slightly confused. He could understand Kirishima's shocked reaction, but the way his secretary was almost drooling over the fascinating creature made something inside him - a beast probably, snap. He had to bite his own tongue in order to keep himself from snapping at his best man. 

Asami was completely and utterly jealous. He did also feel a sense of pride because for some reason he knew that the boy was HIS, and his alone. If that ever made sense to himself, he would surely say 'Look, Kirishima. Isn't he beautiful? Go on, look at him. He is perfect, and he is mine.' It was insanely childish but Asami couldn't keep from feeling that way. What on earth was happening? He wondered to himself.

"I haven't told you before." Asami's voice was cutting and cold, and it made Kirishima shiver. "He is that very hawk-eagle, and that tiger too."

"A supernatural being."

"Right." Asami turned to look at Kirishima in the eye. 

"And... he is yours." The secretary said.

Asami smirked. Kirishima really knew him so well. There was nothing to worry about in the first place.

"What are you doing here anyway?"

"I had a few things to discuss with you, Asami-sama. It is urgent. Suoh informed me that you were going to swim so I came here to find you. You instructed me to proceed in this manner when the matter is urgent."

Asami turned back to look at his boy, Akihito had finally realized his mistake. He had turned half his body into a fish in front of a human he barely knew. He noticed the glint of angriness in the golden eyes, and began to feel afraid.

As if noticing the sudden change in Akihito's emotions, Asami made eye contact with the boy and sighed. He should know by now that Akihito was sensitive to these kinds of things. The boy was now swimming around speedily, too nervous to care where he was heading toward.

"Kirishima. Is this really so urgent?" 

It was very urgent, in fact. But Kirishima knew better.

"No... I guess not, Asami-sama."

This time, and only this time, Asami allowed himself to jeopardize his work.

"Kirishima, do not interrupt again unless Sion is on fire, got me?"

"Gotc- I mean, yes, Asami-sama."

When Kirishima left, Asami stripped his clothes off and dove into the pool.

Akihito almost collided with Asami under water. The man and the spirit gazed into each other's eyes. Suddenly, the man reached out and Akihito got closer to him without thinking, enjoying having his cheeks caressed lovingly. 

All of a sudden, Asami pushed him against the side of the pool and pressed his body right against his. 

Akihito bit his lip. He was drowning in the man's pheromones.

The man held Akihito's chin with one hand, stroking his scales with the other. "It feels so good." Akihito felt a pleasant shiver run down his spine when the man whispered lowly in his ear. "You smell really good too, maybe because you're magical?."

Akihito moaned softly. The man was being so seductive. Maybe he was in heat or something?

"Can I kiss you?"

"W-What is that?"

Asami chuckled softly. His boy was so adorably innocent and naive... Maybe he could take advantage of that. 

"I will teach you. Close your eyes."

The boy didn't need to be asked twice. 

When Asami's lips grazed his, Akihito was pleasantly surprised. Those soft lips felt so good against his. Asami licked his lower lip and Akihito gasped involuntarily. When his mouth was invaded by the man's tongue, he immediately pushed Asami away with his tail. Something strange was going on inside his body. It felt like heat was filling up everywhere, especially in his lower region. 

"What? Didn't you like the kiss?"

"T-that was a kiss?"

Asami smirked again. 

"Oh... It's not that I didn't like it. I-I liked it... really... t-too much, maybe." Akihito was blushing all the way to his ears, and Asami considered the possibility that maybe he was a little bit in love already. The boy was too lovely to be real.

"So why did you push me away?"

The boy turned his body away from Asami. The man's intense stare only seemed to make him feel more hot. "I am feeling... weird."

"Weird? How so, Akihito..." The way his name rolled off of Asami's tongue was so arousing it was hard to contain himself.

"My..." It was hard to even breathe.

Asami got closer again, gently grabbing the boy's waist and resting his chin on his shoulder.

"Your what? Tell me, Akihito." Asami was practically breathing in his ear.

"M-My body..."

Asami looked down to see what the boy was hiding from him and had to bite his lips to keep himself from smirking. There was a dick, not a human one, but hard nonetheless.

"What is it about your body?"

"It seems..."

"You can tell me, baby." Asami had never addressed anyone like this in his life before and he didn't know why he did suddenly but neither did he care.

"It seems..." Akihito whispered and looked down, still flushing. "My b-body wants to mate."

Asami turned the boy in his arms and pressed his body against his again, so that their dicks were touching. The boy's face was a lovely shade of red and he looked so delicious. 

"Well, so is mine." Asami stared hard into Akihito's eyes, the desire in his eyes apparent. The bold statement and his intense gaze made Akihito flounder again, his mouth suddenly incapable of forming coherent sentences. 

"We, we can't!" The boy was whispering again. He could barely contain his own desire, his body craving to be touched and embraced.

"Why not?" Asami licked the boy's neck, making him tremble helplessly. 

"You don't understand, Asami. If we mate, you'll be bonded to me... forever..."


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Evil ones try to destroy us  
> We're armed and prepared for attack  
> We'll take on the world with the rebellion  
> We're dangerous down to the last"  
> — Armed And Dangerous [ ANTHRAX ]

"You'll be bonded to me... forever...' 

The words resounded in the suddenly silent room. To Asami, that didn't sound too bad actually. In fact, it sounded like the other way around. It was an amazing thought; to be tied eternally to such a beautiful and wonderful creature.

"I quite like the idea, actually..." Asami said, resuming his task of nibbling on the boy's ear lobe.

Akihito moaned involuntarily at the action. "You... d-don't understand..."

Asami didn't respond, and instead claimed the boy's lips in a passionate kiss. Akihito tried to follow his lead but obviously had little experience with kissing. He was adorably clumsy. 

"You never done this before?" Asami chuckled, secretly relieved that the boy was untouched. 

Said boy couldn't even answer. Asami lips wouldn't leave his.

"How old are you my pretty mermaid?"

Akihito pulled away from Asami, albeit reluctantly, and placed his hands on Asami's strong chest. He looked at him with sad eyes. "I am too old."

"And you've never kissed before?"

The boy shook his head, blushing slightly. 

Asami smirked and moved closer, holding the mermaid's tail between his knees. His mouth was right next to Akihito's ear when he whispered huskily, "Has your body ever wanted to mate before?"

He already knew the answer to his question.

"It has never..."

"My boy...." The man knew the effects of his whipers and love bites; the boy was practically melting in his arms. "You told me you were a creature that acts on instinct... What does your instinct tell you right now? You say you are really old... so why does your body want to mate only now? It must be a sign or something, that maybe...." he reached out and grabbed Akihito's dick all of a sudden, stroking it slowly. Akihito's breath visibly got stuck in his throat as he gasped loudly. The boy's dick wasn't that of a human's but it wasn't really different from one, other than its size. The boy moaned louder, starting to lose himself in the pleasure.

"Maybe... We're meant to be?"

Asami hastened his movements. 

"But we... I-if we mate... You will not be able to live without me-"

"I don't want to."

"A-Asami... you need to t-think."

The man grabbed Akihito's hair and pulled his head back, revealing his long and pale neck, the soft skin that Asami eagerly licked and chewed slowly. "I am, and I can't stop thinking about you."

After a few more tugs, Akihito finally came hard on Asami hands with a violent shudder. The man watched, smirking in satisfaction. "What do you say?"

Akihito opened his mouth but the answer never came, as someone was suddenly knocking on the door. Instantly pissed at having been interrupted just when things were heating up, Asami turned to look at the door. "Who the fuck is this?"

Asami wasn't a man who normally cussed like that but he was just about to have sex with a mermaid or whatever Akihito was. And he didn't take kindly to being interrupted.

The answer took a second or two to come. It was Kirishima. "I am sorry to disturb you, Asami-sama, but I was wrong... this is an emergency."

Asami turned around. Akihito had become an unusual pink dolphin, swimming around nervously. Maybe he could sense something bad was happening.

"Damn it! Come in!"

Kirishima and Suoh entered the pool area, one completely nervous, the other, tense. 

"Tell me what happened right now. Who do I have to kill now to get a night off!? Sion better be on fire or I will shoot you both."

"Sakazaki made his move." Kirishima, being the perfect secretary, answered, trying his hardest to ignore the almost 3 meter long aquatic mammal swimming around his boss. The secretary was even holding Asami's clothes.

Suoh bit his lips and added on. "It seems he has broken into Sion and taken some hostages."

Sion. Asami's headquarters. 

"He is playing with fire right now." Asami muttered grimly. 

"I was able to determine that he broke into the office but is currently unable to force open the safe. The documents are secure. Still, it is best to resolve the situation at once." Kirishima said. 

The boss climbed up the pool stairs and Kirishima rushed to get him a pair of towels. Asami wrapped himself with one and extended the other towards the pool. 

Akihito hesitated. He was too shy and insecure to transform in front of anyone else other than Asami. Then again, Kirishima had taken care of him when he was hurt before, and Suoh... Asami had said that the man would give up his life to protect him. Somehow it was difficult going against Asami's wishes. It shouldn't be like that, but that was a fact. Without further ado, Akihito turned back into a human and held the towel in his small hands.

Suoh almost choked at the transformation. His boss words came back into his head 'that boy isn't a normal person. He isn't a normal... human. I believe I have told you about this guest before. He is the most amazing thing you'll have ever seen in your life, and is very precious... to me.'

Now he understood what he had meant by that. 

"Kirishima, take the boy to the penthouse. I am going to discuss safety measures with Sion's head of security."

Suoh gulped.

 

"What happened?" The boy asked and Kirishima felt his heart beat faster.

It was the first time the brat had ever spoken to him and honestly he felt a little nervous talking to a supernatural - or whatever he was - being.  
"Problems."

Akihito scoffed. It was cute, really, the way the boy had a fierce presence when he was interested in something. "I noticed that."

Kirishima was smart enough to know that telling the boy about Asami's true self wasn't exactly in his boss' to-do list. Revealing the nature of their work; the trafficking of weapons and drugs and all their involvement with crime definitely wasn't an option.

"You don't need to worry about that." The secretary bit his tongue to keep himself from calling him 'brat'. He glanced at the boy... He was undoubtedly pretty, maybe even too pretty to be real. If he wasn't something so special, Kirishima wouldn't care less about soiling his innocence. That would be Asami's job, regardless.

"Tell me. Please..." The brat's voice was terribly alluring. He was almost like a siren... Maybe he was, who knew? The secretary could really understand his boss' obsession with the boy.

But because of the fact that the brat was his boss's brat, it wasn't hard to force himself ignore him until they arrived at the penthouse.

Kirishima looked at the middle of the secret garden, previously Asami's living room. It was so vibrant and beautiful now. He had never seen so many pretty flowers and rare plants in one place before, arranged in such visually-pleasing harmony. The brat was there one moment and vanished in the next second. He was probably feeling shy having someone else in the garden with him. 

Kirishima shrugged and left the penthouse. The night was going to be a long one now.

Akihito didn't know how to leave the building. It had many corridors and metal boxes, or elevators, as Asami called them and he never been in a place like this before. He decided he would learn where to go considering he was living with a human now... but for how long? It wasn't clear yet if Asami meant all that about mating with him. Akihito himself didn't even know the consequences of doing so yet!

But if he had to decide then, Akihito would have mated with that man right there, in the pool. The man was right after all. For the first time in so long, his body wanted to mate. It must mean something... right?

Kirishima was walking pretty quickly, but his little mouse legs were pretty fast too and it wasn't hard for him to follow the man. Though admittedly, the effect of gravity was way worse in his mouse form when he was in the elevator. 

This Kirishima was very tense and rushed. There was something wrong happening to Asami and Akihito was going to make sure he found out what it was. 

Kirishima entered a big and black metal box. The one Asami had told him was called a 'car' and left.

It took Akihito two seconds to decide to follow them, even though the big city scared the shit out of him. Right now, he was close to finding out if he had finally found his soulmate. He wasn't just going to give up or wait, like some coward. 

-

Suoh was driving fast, heading towards one of Asami's secret wharehouses. They had to form a plan to take over Sion from the invasor's hand.

"They hacked the security system. I failed you, Asami-sama, but I swear I will make them pay."

"You better do, Suoh," the man in question answered. Asami had just been making progress in his relationship with the boy when Suoh had called him; the call itself indicating that it was important. Right now, the fact that Sakazaki had just ruined his first night with Akihito was making him even more pissed than he would be in such circunstances. Asami was going to make sure Sakazaki would be known as the idiot who dared break into Asami's headquarters and had paid dearly for it.

It all happened within a second. Suoh had time to think but not enough to react. By the time he saw the nail carpet right in front of them, he had no time to stop. The nails punctured the tires, and made them burst, the car rolling over before finally stopping on the other side of the track.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter Aki was:
> 
>   
> 


	10. Chapter 10

The man was big and carrying a big gun. He was taking his time, looking at the overturned black SUV on the road. There was broken glass on the asphalt and blood dripping from the crumpled metal.

"It's done, Sakazaki san..." the man said into his radio.

"What's done, moron?" Sakazaki asked. 

"I think I... probably killed Asami san and some of his man..."

"What? What are you talking about??"

The man smirked in victory. "I caused a car accident. They are probably dead now."

"YOU FUCKING IDIOT! YOUR ORDERS WEREN'T TO KILL ASAMI! I WANTED HIM ALIVE! WHAT FUN WOULD I GET FROM MY REVENGE IF IT WAS ANOTHER PERSON WHO KILLED HIM!?"

"S-Sir-"

"Check on him now! Report later you bastard."

With all his strength, a man inside the car pushed the crushed door open. It fell on the ground. He threw his destroyed spectacles on the floor and spat out some blood. "You are going to regret what you just did," Kirishima threatened menacingly. 

The other man just laughed. "Look at you, old man. You can't even shoot, can you?"

Both of Kirishima's arms were broken and it hurt so much just trying to move. He must have further damaged it when he had opened that door. 

"But I can." A deep voice from behind Kirishima said.

The secretary didn't turn around to see his boss but was definitely relieved beyond words.

The viscous drops of blood were running down Asami's handsome face, covering the right side. His didn't look very good and while his right hand was holding a gun, his left was on the general area of his stomach, trying to prevent excessive bleeding.

Kirishima heard a screech above his head and Asami chuckled in response.

The man who tried to kill them got offended and shot the ground next to Kirishima's right foot. "What's so funny?"

"Your death comes from above."

The man never even saw what hit him. From above came a blur; long claws tearing his face apart and gouging out his eyes. His face practically exploded on the first hit, but the unknown entity struck his face and neck furiously, killing him quickly but painfully.

When the man fell to the ground, the falcon landed on his chest and started nibbling strips of skin from his face. Kirishima felt his stomach churning in disgust.

"Akihito." Asami spoke up. "You shouldn't have left the penthouse. But thank you for saving us."

Now wasn't the time for that, Kirishima thought, looking at him in concern. "Asami-sama... your stomach..."

"I'm fine." Asami answered. "We need to take Suoh to the hospital."

Suoh was still unconscious and there was just so much blood.

"A-Asami-sama, I am not sure he will make it." Asami had never heard Kirishima's voice tremble before, but he could understand why it was now. It was Suoh who was dying right there.

"Asami." The eagle turned boy was standing naked in front of them. The secretary was shocked, but still smart enough to turn his back in order not to risk Asami's jealousy. "I can't promise I will heal him very well, but I can probably save his life. It's just... I am so far away from the woods so I am not strong enough right now... But I do have some right now. Ever since the accident with your window, I have been saving inner energy. It will still hurt for me, but I should be able to at least stop his bleeding. Don't call the human doctors yet."

It was a test. Asami knew deep inside that the boy was asking 'do you trust me to not run away?, 'do you trust me enough to put your friend's life in my hands?', 'do you believe in me?'

The answer was yes. He couldn't even begin to fathom how or why he felt such a deep connection with the boy but he just knew that he could trust him wholeheartedly. 

"Kirishima."

"I just called for reinforcements, Asami-sama." The only reason Asami, Kirishima and Suoh were this vulnerable in the first place was because they had never expected an ambush on their way to one of Asami's warehouses. There was no way the enemy could have known they were following this route as it had been an impromptu decision. There was only one possibility. They had been traced. 

"Good. Give your jacket to Suoh. And, Akihito..."

The boy looked at him expectantly. 

"Hurry up." Their enemies must be closing in. 

-

It hurt. If Akihito knew the expression he would say that it hurt like hell. What he didn't tell Asami was that by healing Suoh he was merely transferring the man's injuries to his own body. If they had been out in the woods, he could fully heal the man without resorting to this method, but right now it was the only way to save Suoh's life.

-

Kirishima wondered what was happening to his friend and co-worker Kazumi Suoh.

His boss was pacing back and forth, giving orders on the phone. He was not a man who would usually lose his cool and most of the time the one on the phone would be Kirishima, but this time Asami was not having any of Sakazaki's shit.

A squad had been sent to invade Sion, all to be armed as much as possible. 

"Kirishima," his boss called, checking the ammunition in the barrel of his favorite guns and placing them inside their holster. "You won't join me in this raid. This is going to be a bloodbath and I can't afford to lose you... too."

Suoh was down, after all.

"But-"

"If anything happens, you have to stay here and be the one giving orders."

Kirishima wasn't going to act like the mother hen right now. His boss was a successful leader, an intelligent and talented crimelord. He was, at its core, a warrior. A true warrior. Asami was going to come back alive. There was no doubt about it.

"See you soon, Asami-sama." the secretary bowed with deep respect and admiration.  
-

 

Suoh opened his eyes. He was in pain, his head was throbbing, and the metallic taste of blood lingered on the back of his tongue. "What the fuck...?"

An angel appeared in his field of vision despite being rather blur. The angel was stunning. Fair skin, pretty pink lips, golden hair and an exquisite shade of blue eyes. Suoh could easily say he had never seen such beauty so close before.

"Suoh-san?"

Oh. The angel was Asami-sama's angel.

"Ta...kaba."

"Are you okay?" Even his voice was soft and gentle. "I have to go now."

Suoh grabbed the boy's sleeve. It wasn't out of fear; he never was afraid, but his orders were to take care of the boy, and protect him...

Suoh was lying on the cold asphalt and he knew he wasn't as hurt as he should be, judging by how damaged the car was. His leg still hurt though, and he wasn't sure if he could do his job properly with an injury like that.

"Stop thinking! Rest!" Akihito sternly said, as if he had been listening to the bigger man's thoughts. Suoh just stared at the boy dumbfoundedly.

"No..." Akihito smiled cutely and just the sight of that made Suoh feel better already. "I am not reading your thoughts, it is just all on your face. Listen up, Asami told me to tell you to call something called ambu...ambu-something."

"An Ambulance?"

"Yes, that. They couldn't come while I was healing you. But now you're not at risk of death anymore. You better call them soon because I just spent almost all of my energy reserves. At this point, they will heal you better than I can."

"You saved my life." Suoh could finally form a proper sentence. He knew that the boy had done something to him. Surely someone who could turn into animals could do anything. 

"Yes, buddy. Now you know that I can take care of myself, right? I have to go now. Can you be by yourself until the ambulance comes to fetch you?"

"Yes, but Asa-"

"Asami is worried about you. He'll be happy if you survive."

"Takaba-san, you need help too!" Suoh removed the suit Kirishima had lent him and offered it to the boy."Your ear is bleeding."

Akihito already knew that, the transfer of damage was starting to take its toll on his body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to my beta [Kinoshita1227 ](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Kinoshita1227/pseuds/Kinoshita1227%20target=) ❤
> 
> In this chapter Aki was... 
> 
>  


	11. Chapter 11

Asami sighed. Kirishima was talking to him through the transmitter in his right ear. The secretary had a bright mind and knew Sion better than anyone, aside Sent from my iPhone

The adrenaline circulating in his bloodstream helped to distract him from his worries. Right now, he really couldn't risk losing concentration.

His men were successfully advancing through the place but their progress was slow. Asami wondered how many men Sakazaki had brought and how much he was paying them - probably with the money Sudou was stealing from Dracaena, one of Asami's other legal establishments. 

The club area of the building was relatively clean from blood and bodies, but the same couldn't be said about almost all of the upper floors. If Kirishima were there, he would most definitely have snapped, what with his perfectionism. 

Asami noticed a man and shot him in the eye. The son of a bitch didn't even try being quiet when he was attempting to ambush Asami and his men. Dealing with Sakazaki's cowardly revenge was a real waste of time. If he wasn't so injured from the earlier car accident he would probably be stepping on the bastard's guts by now. But the thing was, Asami was still bleeding and the temporary bandage the doctors had wrapped around him was already soaked crimson. He could also feel himself getting more and more dizzy with every passing minute, so he was making an effort to be careful. Even so, he wasn't too worried about the mission because Sakazaki wasn't exactly the best mob leader in town, and his men were more like a bunch of lowly thugs than an actual squad.

After 'cleaning up' (if by cleaning up it meant to spread bodies everywhere) the floor above the nighclub, Asami and his men splited in two teams moved up, checking elevators, stairs and each room in which they passed. It wasn't like all the 'thugs' were bad so Asami lost a few man and that only added fuel to his anger.

Suoh had reported to be okay at the hospital, he had tried to come back testing all of Kirishima patience, wanting to help and thinking that he had failed Asami. Kirishima told him to stay and the big man sighed looking at the window in his hospital room with worried eyes.

Akihito had disappeared into thin air, and Asami was trying not to think about him too much, instead picturing himself stabbing Sakazaki's guts.

-

Akihito was wearing Kirishima's suit jacket that was almost as big as Asami's clothes. Humans have that strange habit of not walking around naked... Well, at least he had the jacket or he'd be freezing.

His ear wasn't dripping blood anymore, but there were other issues. He was confused; it was hard to keep his mind focused on what he was doing and why, and his vision was blurred. Akihito was positive that Suoh had suffered a concussion, but as a spirit of nature he was way more resistent than a human. Even so the broken ribs, concussion and the shock was getting to him. 

Akihito contemplated assuming another form, but highly doubted he should in his current condition. He had followed Asami's scent to the warehouse he was using as headquarters to plan an attack to retrieve Sion - that was Asami's territory, as far as he understood.

The boy was hiding outside. He knew that if Asami saw him in this state he wouldn't risk letting him interfere in his important mission. To hear what the men inside the warehouse were discussing, Akihito turned his ears into bat ears.

After a while Asami left with some other men in a car similar to the one in the accident and the boy was forced to make a decision. Run away and try to get to a forest to absorb land energy and heal himself, or risk a transformation and have Asami's back, to protect him from possible death. He had seen all the blood dripping from the wound in his stomach. Maybe, Asami would need some healing later on and Akihito could give him his last reserves. After all, he didn't exactly wish to live thousands of years alone again; he was tired of that.

In the end, Akihito decided to turn into a grey wolf and chase the car. He was screwing himself up but he didn't care. It was amazing how his protective instincts were kicking in at a time like this. Maybe Asami was right about the mate thing, he could feel it in his body. They said that once a spirit of nature found its soulmate nothing can stop it from defending and protecting them. That was definitely the case right now, even though they still hadn't mated... yet.

He had overheard the men inside the warehouse's plans, and Akihito knew the warehouse wasn't too far from Sion. That was why he had chosen to become a wolf. It had powerful legs and could run at top speed for almost seventy kilometers when in pursuit. Had he turned into anything else while so injured, he probably would be dead by now. And it wasn't like he could protect Asami in human form. 

It never once occurred to Akihito that maybe Asami didn't need his help.

-

Asami didn't count the bodies, the feelings of fatigue and irritation were growing inside him and he barely aimed before shooting at someone's head with his last bullet. He kicked a man in the stomach and hit his head with the empty gun. However, he didn't completely knock the man out. He wanted to keep some people alive, to find out how a rat like Sakazaki managed to invade his club. 

Asami was going to organize a mole-hunt right after taking care of the current situation, any and every traitor would suffer the consequences of messing with him. These thoughts distracted him from worrying about other things that deeply bothered him. 'Was Suoh okay?', 'And Akihito?' He vaguely recalled the boy mentioning something about not having much energy left. 

"Fancy meeting you here, Asami-dono" A sarcastic voice broke his train of thought. The voice was coming from his office. Asami was careful not to give his position away. 

"I guess I am going to have to disinfect the whole building after this." He said. 

"Oh, because of our little civil war? I thought that the blood on the walls and the corpses on the floor would be a nice touch to your office. Suits your business."

Asami hid behind the wall. He knew he should recharge his gun but it was too risky with the man so close, andhidden by the darkness. He needed to keep him talking just to earn himself some time to locate the bastard in the shadows.

"You're honestly the most annoying person I've ever met, and this is rich coming from someone like me who knows all the diet members. You know how that bunch of old foxes are."

Sakazaki scoffed. "I never expected you to be so childish, Asami. Those words don't match you."

"Yeah, well, I must have learnt it from our precious friend. You know who I'm talking about, don't you? He was so funny when he wanted..." 

"YOU KILLED HIM, DIDN'T YOU!?" Sakazaki yelled and Asami smiled. The bastard was probably just around his desk in the left side of the office.  
"Don't worry, Sakazaki. You'll join Suoh pretty soon in hell. He was so pretty even in his last moments... What a pity he died."

Asami had just managed to ignite the fire deep in the man's heart, burning with intense hatred. Sakazaki suddenly came out from the dark office, tackling Asami. Asami tried to shoot him but the enemy grabbed his wrist and slammed it on the wall before both of them fell on the floor, struggling to choke one another. Both his and Sakazaki's guns were out of the fight by now. 

Sakazaki was slightly taller, but Asami was also stronger, and so neither of them were able to top the other. Asami completely didn't notice when Sakazaki reached out for the gun he had just dropped.

Asami had time to think but none to react when he saw the barrel of the gun pointing to his chest. The moment Sakazaki pulled the trigger, a blur hit Asami's side and he rolled to the right, hitting his back against the wall. He squinted to make out what the thing that pushed him out of the way was. 

A large, dark beast was tearing Sakazaki's face apart and an ephemeral epiphany occurred to him: Akihito was as wild and brutal as Asami himself. He could have easily killed the man off instantly, by just severing his jugular. Instead, for the second time that day, Akihito was devouring the face of someone still alive.

There was so much blood. In the dim moonlight coming through the window, the blood looked black ink pooling on the gray carpet.

Every scream made Asami's heart beat faster. He sat there watching the beast kill his enemy slowly and brutally. When the blood curdling sounds of chewing finally stopped, Asami reached out his hand towards the animal. 

"Good boy." Asami murmured as he patted the animal's head. In that moment, the wolf's legs gave way and he fell onto the ground next to Asami.

"Akihito...?" Asami touched the dirty, sticky fur and realized blood was gushing out continuously. The shot that should have hit him had hit Akihito's chest instead.

"No, no, no... Akihito!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter Aki was...


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Who are you today?  
> Will you be the sun  
> Or the pouring rain?  
> Who are you tomorrow?  
> Will you make me smile  
> Or just bring me sorrow?  
> Who are you gonna be  
> When I'm lost and I'm scared?  
> Who are you gonna be  
> When there's nobody there?  
> Who are you today?  
> 'Cause I am still the same."
> 
> — "Who Are You" [ Fifth Harmony ]

Kirishima averted his eyes from his boss' big hands. He would never get used to this - being served by Asami just didn't seem right.

"It's alright, Kirishima." Asami said. "It isn't difficult to pour green tea."

"But, Asami-sama-"

"Your arms are broken. You can't serve me or even yourself like this. Enough with the small talk."

Kirishima shut his mouth promptly and bowed low to his boss. 

It was a week after the events in the Sion building. A week after their car accident. A week after having both arms broken. A week after Asami had been shot in the belly. A week since Akihito had been shot in the chest.

It was a whole week since the last time he had seen that incredible and magical creature.

Asami has never been a man to show his emotions in public, not even to the people closest to him like Suoh and Kirishima themselves, but lately, his boss had been showing an expression that was somewhat melancholic. And it didn't take a genius to figure out why.

As for Suoh who isn't exactly known for being sensitive, he too regretted having used Akihito's little energy to heal himself ever since he heard about the shot the wolf had gotten in its chest.

He used to tell Kirishima how "If he hadn't spend so much energy trying to heal me, he could have healed himself."

But Asami didn't blame his body guard. After all, the one Akihito had gotten shot for was none other than himself. 

"Everything seems okay in Tokyo now." Asami's deep voice interrupted Kirishima's thoughts. "We are going back next week."

"Sir... Are you sure?"

The tall man didn't even turn to look at him, instead walking to the big window. By right, he wasn't given permission by the doctor to walk around with such a serious injury in his belly, but then again who could order Asami to do something?

"He is dead, Kirishima. He will not come back... I didn't put a bullet through his head, but I should have. I watched him die, bleeding to death."  
In all honesty, Kirishima wouldn't have had the heart to do that either.

"Are you sure, Asami-sama?" Kirishima reached for the cup of tea with his two hands. It was challenging to hold things like that but at least he was now able to drink something without help. "He is a supernatural being, and we brought him to the largest forest in the world. He said he could heal himself in the woods, right?"

"Yes, but..." Asami didn't want to remember but he couldn't stop thinking about it. "He was dead. I saw... he was returning to 'mother earth' as he liked to say.."

Kirishima didn't know what to do with the information. It wasn't like they could call for an expert on nature spirits or something. 

He wished he could say something, anything, to cheer Asami up. He was used to the silence, but not to the sad and lost expression on his boss' face. This wasn't the Asami Ryuichi he knew and served. 

-

Asami wandered into the woods close to his Hotel in Manaus city, the capital of Amazon's state, Brazil. The Amazon is the biggest rainforest in the world, and was his only hope to save his boy. But was it too late? He had bled so much and the traveling had taken too long. By the time the man had put him in the ground, Akihito was barely able to open his eyes to look at him with a mysterious expression and a weak smile. His breath was so slow, so shallow. He had never looked so fragile and small before. It wasn't long before his chest had stopped moving and like a boy who didn't know what to do in difficult situations, Asami had just run away, almost getting lost before finally coming back to his senses. His belly was bleeding and he knew Akihito wouldn't forgive him if he didn't take care of it, so he had gone back to the hotel. 

But it was now a week later and he was still there, in the hot city in the middle of nowhere. It was Manaus, after all! A big city built at the edge of a forest of continental proportions. He should be using his time to enjoy the view and the beach. If he wasn't seriously injured anyways.

He took slow steps forward without even thinking about where he was heading. He wasn't a man to wander recklessly in the woods, injured and unarmed, but it didn't bother him. He didn't want to think about anything just yet.

He hadn't even noticed that his feet had left the main trail, going deeper and deeper into the woods. If he were there, Kirishima would freak out over that for sure.

Asami tripped on a stone and realized that he had not even noticed it in his path. In the forest the day gets dark very quickly. He should go back but... Where had he come from? The big trees looked exactly the same wherever he turned, and even the stones looked the same.

The Amazon forest started getting chilly and his sweaty body wasn't retaining any warmth. He was shivering profusely and his wound felt like it was burning. 'Is it a fever?' He wondered to himself.

He scoffed. The almighty Asami Ryuichi wasn't feeling any kind of powerful now. Looking back at the past few days he hadn't felt powerful then either. 

There were no clouds that night, Asami could see countless stars and the Milky Way and suddenly he remembered a dream he had a seemingly long time ago. He was an eagle and he was flying high in the sky, above the clouds and far from everything but the stars, free and fast and along side-

He sighed. Getting all depressed wasn't like him.

It was getting dark fast and wasting time thinking of old dreams was a bad idea considering he wasn't in his best conditions and had no tent or shelter to spend the night in. He wasn't considering becoming a jaguar's dinner.

Asami laid out some stones in a circle and filled the interior with dry sticks before lighting up his lighter. See? Being a smoker also had its advantages. He shook his head. 

Kirishima was probably freaking out by now. His phone couldn't even get a signal.

Asami idly wondered if he wasn't far from where he had left Akihito's body. And he was so tired and lost in thought that it took him a while to notice the big and dangerous animal staring straight at him.

It had a long, sharp beak, and white and black feathers. It wasn't like any animal Asami had ever seen. It was bigger, stronger and more threatening than the pretty Mountain Hawk Eagle he had seen in his penthouse so many weeks ago. It was a Harpy Eagle. He knew to be respectful and be afraid, but the thing was... he was still a little bit hopeful. Maybe it was desperation, but it didn't matter to him that he was acting like an insane and desperate man in the middle of the forest, shivering with a cold fever and probably some kind of infection.

"A-Akihito?" He stood up. "Is that you? I am... I am lost."

The dangerous bird just kept looking at him curiously. 

It was then that Asami heard leaves rustling nearby. He felt as though he was being watched and looked around his surroundings. He was probably getting paranoid and a bit delirious. But that didn't matter. Akihito did. 

"Akihito!" Asami said again but the harpy, disinterested, opened its huge wings and flew away.

He was so stupid. The crime lord sat on the branch next to the fire and just stared at his hands. The boy was gone. There was nothing he could do to change that. 

However, unbeknownst to Asami, he was indeed being watched. A black jaguar had tracked him for the whole afternoon, licking his nose and sniffing everywhere to track the man's scent... He was starving! His easy dinner had his back on him and he could foresee his sharp fangs digging into that strong neck. What a nice meal he'll be. He probably wouldn't be able to eat the whole thing but he would enjoy as much as could fit inside his belly.

The human didn't notice his presence until it was too late and he was already in the air by the time the man realised his presence. The man may have been distracted but not the harpy. In a moment the bird had become a jaguar as well, golden with black spots, and pounced at him. It was a spirit of nature for sure.

The two felines stared at each other for a second before the black one sat and lowered his head.

Asami didn't dare speak. It was like all his dreams would break if he dared to. 

The black jaguar stood on its hind legs and become a boy, though not as pretty or delicate as his boy. This one had dark hair and playful eyes. He didn't looked Brazilian at all.

"Don't tell me, Aki" he said, "this is your human?"

The golden jaguar become a fair pretty boy with golden hair and bright blue eyes. "Yes, he is. And don't you dare hunt him ever again. Do you hear me, Kou?"

Kou shrugged. "What a shame, I'm so envious, you got yourself a nice specimen as your mate." He turned to look at Asami with a sweet smile "Nice to meet you. Welcome to the family... And... I am sorry for trying to eat you. But, because I wasted the whole afternoon tracking you, you owe me a prey, don't forget that. See you guys!" He waved and smiled before muttering something about telling something to someone called Takato.

Asami couldn't bring himself to stand up; his legs felt like jelly. Was it too much to hope all that wasn't just a hallucination? 

"Asami...?" Akihito said, taking a step towards the man and smiling a little. "You are not lost anymore."

"Akihito...? Is that you?" Asami was wide-eyed, incredulous. 

"Yes." The boy smiled sweetly. "Its me!"

"What... How can that be? I saw you die!"

"You must have thought I was dying but from the moment I stopped breathing I started to heal myself. You know... My body just needed a rest. I am so sorry... I didn't mean to scare you- hey!"

Asami tried to pounce on him but Akihito stopped him with a gesture. "Wait, don't come any closer." His expression was serious all of sudden. It went straight through Asami's heart.

"L-Look, we just need to talk a little bit first, okay? It's important."

"Okay..."

"Oh, wait, you're hurt." The boy walked over and spread his hands on Asami's broad chest. The moment he closed his eyes, a light emitted from the palms of his hands, spreading heat through the man's chest. When he was done, the boy stepped back and smiled slightly. Asami no longer felt weak or injured. He had magically been cured. The wound on his shoulder didn't bother him anymore, and now there was no trace that he had even been wounded there in the first place. 

"Thank you." Asami said. 

Akihito sighed and looked up at the sky. The Milky Way reflected in his eyes, and there was so much beauty and wonder. "Look." He pointed. "The universe is so big. There are so many things to know, to see. I used to think that because I was old and lonely it didn't matter where and why I was living." He glanced at Asami for a moment and suddenly didn't seem so boyish anymore. "I kept forgetting what I was born for, what I was meant to be. I was lost and I was trying to find meaning. I spent so many years wondering and looking for something that belonged to me, something that would complete me."

Asami wanted to know what it was but he was too afraid to find out.

"And then, I met you," the boy continued. "The first time I saw you I felt a strong pull. It was strange and foreign but it told me, instinctively, that I could trust you. I told you I am a creature that acts on instinct and that's why I wondered during that first meeting 'could he be my soulmate?' These past weeks I have been confused and afraid. Was it really to be just like that? So simple and natural? After so many centuries of searching for my soulmate, it was a normal, uneventful day, just like many others that I met you. It felt so natural... that I was afraid it was just me... just me fooling myself. You know how when you're desperate you tend to try to make things easier and just pretend it's okay? And because I thought maybe you were really my other half, I wanted so badly to know you better, and deeply. Yet you were hiding things from me. Your true self. A man who would kill anybody, hurt anyone to make yourself more powerful. You were untouchable. I mean, I knew you were being sincere with your affection towards me, being so nice and sweet... but I wanted to know all of you and you never showed me the how merciless you are, a true predator. I thought 'if he is just pretending to be something he is not, maybe he isn't the right one for me'. Then, I started thinking and thinking. It is ironic that an ancient creature like me knows so little about humans. Your culture and the way you guys think. Of course you have the right to keep your secrets. I bet you thought 'I don't want to scare him. I don't want him to know all the bad things I do to get money, to get power.' Am I right?" He smiled and Asami didn't reply. 

Asami didn't want to hear that. It was nothing more than the truth, but listening those things spilling from that pretty mouth could only mean one thing. 'He will say I'm too evil for him, too impure, that he hates me, that I shouldn't be here, corrupting him.' He thought. Maybe it was the fatigue getting to him, maybe it was his real thoughts. Deep inside the man was terrified of the idea of Akihito rejecting him. He didn't even want to think about the consequences if that happened. 

Suddenly, Akihito spoke again, interrupting his thoughts. "Because I was thinking so hard, I could understand why you tried to keep me in the dark. Like a chameleon that changes its colors to try to protect itself from predators. I can understand that. And you need to know I don't judge you for that. I really don't. You were trying to protect me by keeping me indoors, even though I kind of felt like a pet. I understand. And you didn't tell me all the bad things you did because you thought if I didn't know the real you I wouldn't get scared off and I wouldn't hurt you by leaving you or calling you a monster..."

Akihito was right. That had been exactly what he was thinking. If someone could understand him so well, then the soulmate thing must really exist. 

"I need you to understand, Asami... that I won't judge you. Deceiving others is a defense mechanism. Animals use it all the time to protect themselves and their family. I would never hurt you or your feelings, at least not on purpose. I visited your dreams once... I wasn't going to tell you because I still feel embarrassed about that, you know... I shouldn't have invaded your privacy. But feeling ashamed of something is also a human trait, and it reminds me that I am partially human too. It makes me feel closer to you. But, like I said, through that dream I had a glimpse of your memories. I know all about the torture, the killing... all about what you humans call 'crimes'. And, still... I won't judge you. You see... lions kill other lions' cubs without even blinking, just to that assert their authority and protect their territory; he doesn't want new rivals. A doe will aggressively defend her fawn, and bucks do too to defend their clan. All these animals also establish dominance in their clan among other males. You have to do what you have to do to retain your dominance. You fight like a survivor and a predator. Maybe I am wrong by parameters of human reasoning. Maybe I am the monster you think you are. But showing off your strength and eliminating your rivals are extremely common in the wild. I grew up with it, so I'm not surprised. I'm not afraid, and I don't see anything wrong with doing so." He shrugged. "But then again, I am no human, so my concept of what society is may be wrong. I am not saying all this to make you feel better, I am just being honest with you... You need to know, I don't judge you."

Asami couldn't believe what the boy was saying. It was like both a dream and a nightmare. He felt that even the smallest movement would make him wake up, sweaty and sad, thinking about the strange boy he fell in love with. Seeing that Asami wasn't replying, or too shocked to reply, Akihito took in a deep breath and continued.

"Can you now see why I did what I did and the way I did it that night? Ripping your enemies apart, tearing their faces like it was nothing? How many living things do you think I have killed in all these thousands of years? All the hearts I ate? I am just an animal, I eat, and hunt and fight to live and I would do that for you. Maybe humans don't do that but I am no expert in human society rules. I understand you, the way you are. And you have nothing to hide, to be ashamed or afraid of. I have told you so many times by now, I won't judge you. But... tell me... knowing the beast I can be... do you judge me?"

Asami gulped hard. His throat felt tight and it was hard to talk. His eyes burned and everything seemed blurry. When had been the last time he had cried?

"No. I wouldn't dare. You are everything I have ever wanted. And... And the moment I saw you I treasured you and knew I wanted to protect you with my life and... It's still too much to comprehend, at this point. I only knew you for a few weeks and yet it seems I can't live without you anymore..."

Akihito smiled. "Hearing you be so honest really makes me beyond happy.... But..."

"But?" 

"I am about to ask you a question and I need you to think carefully about it."

"Okay."

"Love is just a word. What I understand of 'loving' is that it can't be described with words and can only be shown through actions. You know what I mean, right?"

"Of course."

"Asami... Do you want to be my mate?"

Asami chuckled. "Why do I feel like I should be the one asking that?"

"What?"

"Nothing" the man said, wiping his face with a fancy scarf. He opened his mouth again to speak but the boy made another gesture to stop him.

"But first, you need to know the consequences."

"Right."

"First of all... you'll become a spirit of nature like me. You will not grow old, or fall sick. Every human you know will die eventually, and others will be born, but you won't change. Time will fly and everything will seem ephemeral. You won't be immortal, however. You can still die, but only if you are wounded severely. Of course you will be able to heal quickly whenever you get hurt, but only unless it is too much damage at once. You'll also feel uneasy if you stay away from the woods for long periods of time. And... It can be physically painful to be away from me, as your mate."

Akihito's heart was pumping so hard he feared Asami could hear it in the quiet night. His love was like a prison. Who would ever choose to stay literally bounded to another person for hundreds and thousands of years? Who would choose to watch everyone they ever knew and cared about die of old age while there won't even be a wrinkle on their face. Who would choose to feel left behind to live in a violent, corrupted world for countless years?

But to Akihito's absolute surprise, Asami smiled and reached out to caress his face gently.

"I see no downside to that." He said. "I have wanted to love and protect you from the very first moment we met. But be warned because I am a selfish and possessive man. You should be the one overthinking the offer. I will say 'yes' before you overthink it, because I don't want you changing your mind now. So, be mine. Do you want to be my mate?"

"Yes!" The boy answered instantaneously. 

"Not going to regret agreeing later?" Asami smirked, happy.

"Hmmm..." Akihito pretended to think, tapping his finger on his chin. "If you become too demanding I can always turn into a tiny ladybug and hide from you." Akihito teased.

"That's what you think. But ladybug or not, you'll always be close to me." The man leaned closer to his adorable mate.

"You're right..." The boy murmured, putting his arms around the taller man to hug him tightly. Asami tilted his chin to make him look up towards him. 

"So? Are you willing to accept the conditions, my cute Akihito?" A genuine smile tugged at the corners of his lips as he watched the boy's lips break out in a huge, sparkly and radiant smile. 

"So it seems you'll never let me go for the rest of my life even if I want to..." Akihito placed his delicate palms on Asami's cheeks and pulled him down so that they were eye to eye. "But, I'm not complaining." 

The last thing Akihito saw before he closed his eyes to kiss the man on the lips to seal the deal was a full-blown smile on Asami's normally expressionless face. The man finally let down his guard, and just for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to my beta [Kinoshita1227 ](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Kinoshita1227/pseuds/Kinoshita1227%20target=) ❤
> 
> It WAS supposed TO BE THE LAST CHAPTER, but guess what? I'll be posting an extra chapter plus an epilogue. I hope you like this adventure so far.  
> This is my biggest fic and I've been afraid to ruin everything, so if you read it I am very glad xP  
> Please comment xP
> 
> animals mentioned in this chapter:
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**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to my beta [Kinoshita1227 ](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Kinoshita1227/pseuds/Kinoshita1227%20target=) ❤


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